Nanny And the Beast

It's him! It'shim!He just pulled up out front."Sophia Stanton refused to let the tension in Karen's voice rattle her. Her part-time assistant was easily flustered."Him?" Sophia asked, placing her pen on the desktop and glancing toward the doorway. "Himwho?"Karen's eyes widened and her voice lowered to a whisper. "The Beast." She reached up and plucked at the short, spiky locks behind her ear. Then she craned her neck to look out the front window. "He just took his baby out of the back of his SUV." She sucked in a tight breath. "And Lily just got out, too. Her face is four shades of red."Sophia stifled a groan. She didn't need more aggravation this morning; two of her girls had called in sick and replacements were yet to be found. But knowing the track record of Mr. Michael Taylor, aka "The Beast," she steeled herself for the worst.When it came to providing care for his month-old daughter, the man seemed impossible to please. He'd fired two of Sophia's nannies in the past three weeks. The young women had come back to the office reporting that he was demanding and inflexible, so much so that everyone at The Nanny Place was certain he must sport horns and a spiked tail. One thing was certain -- Mr. Taylor was fast becoming a beastly pain in Sophia's butt."Okay," Sophia told Karen, inhaling deeply to prepare herself. "Let's just stay calm. Keep Lily out there with you, and show him in here immediately. And then I need for you to get in touch with Terry. Ask her if she's able to cover for Isabel today.""Terry lives below the canal," Karen reminded her."She'll never reach the city in time for Mrs. Schaffer to get to work on time.""I'll call and explain." Sophia gathered up the paperwork on her desk and set it to one side. The Beast would be here any second. "And I'll find someone to fill in for Paula, too. Just as soon as I take care of this problem."Karen tugged at her hair again, the pen curled between her fingers nearly poking her chin. "They're here." Trepidation rippled through her whisper. "Good luck," she added, before disappearing from the doorway.Sophia stood, smoothed her hand over the skirt of her dark suit and then paused long enough to take one more deep breath, the kind she'd learned in her yoga class. Her instructor swore yoga could help in every aspect of her life and right now she was willing to take all the help she could get.Michael Taylor didn't just walk in to her office, he stormed in, closing the door firmly behind him. Anger honed his handsome features and seemed out of sync with the awkward gentleness with which he cradled his baby girl.His most striking feature was his gaze. Those deep brown eyes flashed with extreme intensity -- irritation, yes, but something else, too, some powerful force emanating from within. He had the kind of good looks and trim, athletic body that made a sensible woman think thoughts she shouldn't, and consider doing things she normally wouldn't. Sophia wouldn't have been the least surprised to learn that females who passed him on the street routinely broke out into appreciative wolf whistles."Good morning, Mr. Taylor," Sophia greeted, infusing a bright friendliness into her voice while completely ignoring the palpable ire radiating off the man."There's not much good about it, I'm afraid." Annoyance sharpened every word.Oh, yeah, women might whistle for his attention, but all they'd get for their trouble was a rumbling growl."I fired Lily this morning," he told her.Sophia wanted to swear, but held her tongue. He was a client and she had to do her best to please him. Her mind raced. Did she even have anyone else willing to work for the man?"We need to fix the problem I've been having with the nannies you're sending me, Ms. Stanton, and we need to fix it now."A sigh of frustration gathered in Sophia's chest, but she didn't allow it to escape with any kind of real force. "Of course we do. And we will, I assure youClayton, Donna is the author of 'Nanny And the Beast ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780373198283 and ISBN 0373198280.